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Marek Antoni Nowicki, a member of the Helsinki Committee in Poland (HC), explains that in its new statement the Committee defends freedom of parliamentary debate not Andrew Lepper himself. Under democracy it is important that parliamentarians, especially those of the opposition, should not have to censor their statements during parliamentiary debates for fear of criminal responsibility. (12-MAY-06)
 

On 4 May 2006 The European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) published a report entitled “Roma and Travellers in Public Education”, which deals with the education of Roma residing in all European Union countries. The fragments devoted to Republic of Poland were written based on the information provided by the National Focal Points RAXEN Network. Agnieszka Mikulska, right, played a key part in the process. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is the National Focal Point in the Republic of Poland. (12-MAY-06)
 

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), at the press conference, has announced direct elections in BiH, which will take place on 1 October 2006 in accord with the existing Constitution of BiH and the Election Law. These elections will be held in line with the BiH Election Law, which has recently undergone significant changes. (12-MAY-06)
 

On 4 May 2006 The European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) published a report entitled “Roma and Travellers in Public Education”, which deals with the education of Roma residing in all European Union countries. The fragments devoted to Republic of Poland were written based on the information provided by the National Focal Points RAXEN Network. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is the National Focal Point in the Republic of Poland. (12-MAY-06)
 

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) announced, at a press conference today, that direct elections will take place on 1 October 2006 in accordance with the existing Constitution of BiH and the Election Law. The Election Law has recently undergone significant changes. (12-MAY-06)
 

Despite recent proposals for reforming and updating media law in the country, the Maldives is amongst the worst offenders against press freedom in Asia. On World Press Freedom Day, ARTICLE 19 and The Friends of the Maldives highlighted the Maldives, a country increasingly coming under scrutiny for its poor free expression record. (11-MAY-06)
 

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee recently launched the textbook “Human Rights – an introduction” in the Uzbek language. In addition to enabling the reader getting familiarized with the international tools that exist in relation to human rights, the book gives a description of the critical human rights situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The document may be downloaded here. (08-MAY-2006)
 
 

North Korea – New approaches, the 7th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees, will this year be held in Bergen, Norway, between 9 and 11 May. Organisers are The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen and The Citizens´ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. We hope that the diverse participation from a wide range of fields will create a framework that will not only enhance dialogue between different views, but also link human rights issues to international security, humanitarian aid, and economic development. (08-MAY-06)
 

The 1 May many May Day rallies and demonstrations were held across the Russian Federation. Overall, 1297 different mass actions took place in 83 regions of the Russian Federation and 1.5 million people participated in rallies and demonstrations. This year the holiday was characterized by sharp political tension. Not only communists and labour activists gathered in rallies but there were also representatives of right forces, nationalists, monarchists and the United the Russian Federation members. During May Day holidays a few protest actions against homosexuals were held by nationalists. (05-MAY-06)